FARGO — The Fargo Park District is putting some teeth into golfers who don’t show up for tee times this summer, testing a no-show policy at its five public courses. It’s a light bite, but it stands to be an attention-getter nonetheless.
It’s all in the math.
Park District figures show there were 8,894 rounds that were reserved, but not played in 2025. That’s players, not tee times. Over the course of an estimated 20 weeks of a golf season, that’s almost 450 rounds per week at all the courses.
That significantly cut into the biggest complaint for golfers on Park District surveys — accessibility.
“Having access to tee times is difficult in Fargo for people looking to play,” said Rocky Papachek, golf director for the Park District. “This is just the first step in how do we make more tee times accessible and the procedure was just more notifications.”
A player will get a first reminder 48 hours in advance of a tee time. If not confirmed, another reminder will be sent 24 hours prior. If it’s not confirmed two hours before the tee time, it will be considered a violation.
A golfer will lose online booking privileges for the season after two violations. That includes a golfer booking a tee time for four players and, say, two show up.
“That goes to show that we can fill tee times two hours in advance if somebody cancels,” Papachek said.
In comparison to losing booking privileges, some courses charge a fee for not showing up.
“We felt like this first year, let’s try the additional notifications and not charge anything,” Papachek said. “And at the end of the year, we’ll review the policy and make any necessary recommendations or modifications for next year.”
Edgewood, Rose Creek, Prairiewood, Osgood and El Zagal are all open, although some warmer weather would help course conditions. Papachek said they avoided a late freeze like last year that killed Poa grass at most courses across the Red River Valley.
“Some of the bent grass just needs heat to get growing,” Papachek said.
Local noted golfer Chuck Sjostrom dies
The local golf community lost a staple figure when Chuck Sjostrom passed away last week at the age of 79. He was most noted for his involvement with the Bobcat North Dakota Open, where he was named the honorary chairman for the 2018 event.
He first played in the tournament in 1971, only missing with an occasional business trip or back surgery. Of note: he played with future PGA Tour pro Eddie Langert in the first Bobcat tournament in 1964.
Langert went on to invent the TaylorMade metal driver and was part of a group that founded metal wood technology. At the Bobcat, Langert had Sjostrom play with a metal club.
“He tried to get me to play with this little metal driver, it was pretty primitive to what they have nowadays,” Sjostrom said in an article before the 2018 Bobcat. “I did hit a few shots with it.”
A former club pro at Maple River and Edgewood, Sjostrom served on the Fargo Country Club Board of Directors in the 1980s.
The funeral service for Sjostrom is set for 2 p.m. Thursday, May 14, at Nativity Catholic Church in Fargo.
Fargo Davies graduate Lexi Bartley, a sophomore at Northwest Missouri State, birdied the final hole to claim a top-10 finish in the Mid-American Athletic Association championships at Mules National Golf Club in Warrensburg, Missouri. Bartley finished in a tie for sixth with rounds of 74-78-75. … Another Davies golfer, Minnesota State Mankato senior Ava Olson, was in a tie for fourth heading into Friday’s final day at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships at Adams Pointe Golf Club in Blue Springs, Missouri. … North Dakota State’s Avery Bartels, a sophomore from Kindred, registered her third straight top-10 finish tying teammate Jeri Lafleche for fifth place at the Bobcat Desert Classic in Goodyear, Arizona. Next up for the Bison is the Summit League Championships beginning Sunday at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona. … The Minnesota Golf Association, in its 2025 annual survey of rounds played at state courses, reported an increase for the sixth time in the last seven years. The 2.8 million rounds in ‘25 was a 2% increase from the previous year.
Jeff Kolpack, the son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 The Forum, where he’s covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995. He has covered all 10 of NDSU’s Division I FCS national football titles and has written four books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough,” “Covid Kids” and “They Caught Them Sleeping: How Dot Reinvented the Pretzel.” He is also the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” April through August.